Zahidah Zeytoun Millie

'Coffee Morning talks about my daily morning routine either after a kayaking trip to the mangroves or after reading poetry and newspapers online while I’m having coffee.

I am on my sofa, but my eyes and mind are going everywhere around the planet, and through the Net. Our globe has become smaller and strongly connected.

For example, when I posted a Wordsworth poem on my Facebook page about daffodils, a set of verse I enjoy greatly, by coincidence my neighbour was reading the same poem and she came to knock on my door the second day with a bunch of daffodils brought from her garden in London.

The large size painting Coffee Morning represents my daily world amidst the expanse of the mangroves. The fish bowl, the sofa, pillow, the carpet are all features of my sitting room. The crab on the melting clock represents the time I have spent in the mangroves of Victoria and the UAE. The melting clock is a motif borrowed from Salvador Dali, while the crab is actually a familiar companion when I sketch from my kayak. Once whilst sketching a bird, I realised the presence of a small crab! I place written texts on the hair, the bird, the cup of coffee on the right hand side of the picture and on the sofa, the small vase with the daffodil flowers on the left hand side. On the sofa there are written texts on the world map upon the sofa. The texts are written in two languages: Arabic and English, based on selected poems and personal thoughts. The outline words which shape the flowers and vase are excerpts of William Wordsworth’s poetry about daffodil flowers.

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure flies

And dances with the daffodils

Mangroves and sea grass are very effective in reducing the carbon from the air and providing us with the oxygen. The tree provides great rejuvenating energy as they are nurseries of many hidden lives: baby fish, birds, turtles, colourful crabs and more. Yet just over the fringe of the tree cover is the bustle of the encroaching urban life. I have found the mangroves a source of power, beauty, energy and simplicity.